The cattle industry laments the “deferred” veto that has allowed Brazil to send meat to the EU

The Spanish beef producers are complaining that the European Union has applied a “delayed” ban on imports from Brazil because its implementation has been delayed by four months, a time during which shipments from that South American country have actually increased.

This is what Matilde Moro, manager of the Association of Beef Cattle Producers (Asoprovac) , says in an interview with Efeagro, who reviews the current situation in the sector marked by the veto on the entry into the EU of certain products from Brazil, such as beef, due to a lack of guarantees of compliance with the rules on the use of antibiotics in livestock.

She finds it “surprising” that this came to light days after the entry into force of the free trade agreement between the EU and the Mercosur countries —including Brazil—, which paradoxically has facilitated the shipment of Brazilian beef since May despite some of its health requirements being under scrutiny by Brussels.

At the European level, imports of fresh beef from Brazil have increased by 90% in May and June, and at the national level by 47%, she noted.

She has asked the EC to be “forceful” and to conduct an audit at the source before lifting the veto to verify that Brazil meets the requirements .

Regarding the EU-Mercosur agreement, she indicated that they are gathering price data on beef to determine if the conditions are right to activate safeguard clauses . She believes that some of the required conditions are already met because there has been a “sustained decrease” in national reference prices “between -7.3% and -14.2% from May to September. “

Beef purchases in Spanish households have fallen by 7.3% in volume in the last 12 months to June , but spending has risen by 5.7%, which denotes an inflationary context for this meat, whose August CPI revealed an annual increase of 9.4% .

Moro acknowledges the “logical” impact that this price increase has had on consumption.

From her point of view, it is the result of a “tremendous imbalance” in production, supply and demand at the European level, which is why she sees it as necessary to “correct” it.

However, she believes that a “certain stability” in prices is already occurring and that it will “probably be able to cushion that drop in consumption” among families.

On a positive note, she values the fact that beef “remains the second most consumed meat outside the home.”

If there is one aspect that has stood out in the beef trade balance, it is the rise in imports, especially those of live animals (+39% in volume and +75% in value in the past year) .

Moro places this problem in Spain, but also in the rest of Europe, where production has fallen “a lot”, by about 1.7 million fewer cows in the last five years .

According to the manager of Asoprovac, one of the main reasons for this decline was the implementation of the “Farm to Table” strategy, which was “very damaging” because it spread messages such as “the need to reduce consumption” of meat and “established a very negative narrative about production.”

However, she appreciated that the current European Commission has changed its view and now maintains that livestock farming is “strategic ,” something he hopes will be reflected in the future Common Agricultural Policy.

In the area of animal health, they are monitoring the brucellosis outbreaks in Extremadura and the “high efforts” being made to tackle them so that Spain does not lose its health status, which would have a “dramatic” impact on trade.

Therefore, she calls for “responsibility” so that “any suspicion —of disease— is reported immediately” to the veterinary services .

Regarding contagious nodular dermatosis, which is now a year old after the first outbreak in Catalonia, she believes that the sector and the administrations have done a “wonderful” job to contain it thanks to the vaccination program and the rest of the health measures.